Dictionary.com defines an oligarchy as a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique, government by the few. And sadly, it looks like the Ivy League elite who study our government hit the mark this time.

The definition proffered by the researchers is only slightly different: “An oligarchy is a system where power is effectively wielded by a small number of individuals defined by their status called oligarchs. Members of the oligarchy are the rich, the well-connected and the politically powerful, as well as particularly well-placed individuals in institutions like banking and finance or the military.”

So the real question is: How did our democratic republic, known for the slogan “Power to the People,” slip silently into the hand of the billionaires, Hollywood moguls, and political elites?

Did it slowly succumb? Was it secretly taken over? Or was it always in the hands of the elite? I’m not sure any historian could give us an adequate answer, but I intend to share my own.

Gov’t of the Money, By the Money and for the Money

Luckily, my answer is simple. The problem is big government.

When America was founded, the central government was small and remote. Most people never had cause to deal with the government, so they really didn’t pay much attention.

Taxes were miniscule and were mostly collected as tariffs on goods coming in and out of a few harbor towns. There was no personal income tax, no capital gains tax, and no corporate income tax.

Money consisted of a particular weight of silver or gold, and people didn’t worry about government manipulation of the currency. The government couldn’t fake or inflate a silver dollar or a $20 gold piece.

Schools were organized by local communities, and the government didn’t have a reason to interfere. This was long before the days of Common Core State Standards, No Child Left Behind, standardized tests, and sex education mandates.

On top of that, there was no Department of Agriculture to tell farmers which crops to plant or how much they’d get paid for a gallon of milk or a block of cheese.

I could go on like this about a hundred other agencies that utopians had yet to dream up at the time of our country’s founding, but you get the point.

Once the government began to grow, our democracy was toast.

Then political insiders learned they could fleece one group of people and – as Barack Obama is famous for saying – “spread the wealth around.” Immediately afterward, groups began spending money on elections to get “their guy” in office. Their guy would “bring home the bacon.”

Comments

Besides the DOA, the NSA, the DOE (liberal), the NEA (corrupt liberal), the EPA (corrupt liberal), the IRS (corrupt liberal), the DOS (corrupt liberal) and DOINJ (injustice, corrupt liberal) should all be eliminated saving about a 2 trillion dollars on biased corrupt agencies!!!